[Private RP]

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"I don't know about you Icarus," she started, "but you guys don't act like machines. I remember meeting Edmund for the first time when he fell on my head. It wasn't the most graceful thing but everything about RAINs seem so real. I guess I am just another person who can hardly tell the difference. Then again, I think that's the point." She had never contemplated the idea of them being just machines. Edmund had been more than just a companion to her since she arrived. He had kept her smiling and kept her thoughts off of home- the one place she cared to see again.

Edmund nodded at Icarus' answer, satisfied that it was for some purpose and Kennedy wasn't wasting money. However, he was caught off guard when Icarus asked him about the way he acted. For a moment the boy held his pencil still and stared at the potatoes floating in the pot. "I was programmed to make Kennedy's transition as easy as possible and as far as I know that's the only purpose I have right now. I can act, dress, and look older at any point but that's not what I am supposed to do." He took a sip of water out of the cup the had been sitting there. "Kennedy is my big sister and I am her younger brother. We make a good team. With the way I act she's happy and that's what matters."

Kennedy had paused to listen to her RAINs answer. These were all things they had talked about. Edmund did have a sophisticated and more adult-like side to him but he kept it buried for the most part. Without him Kennedy would not have been able to cope. She nodded her head, a grin spreading across her face. "I'm appreciative of Edmund. He's like a brother to me and he has made moving here much easier." she admitted. "I was not fond of the idea of moving away from my family but since meeting Edmund I have been designing almost all the time or I have been out enjoying this carnival. Thankfully I have avoided whatever illnesses Trace has caught though. I am not fond of being sick."

As she had been talking the girl had pushed the meat into the now simmering pot and had begun cooking the onions. "Why do you act so serious Icarus? I guess if your User has the same personality it would make things a lot easier. However, Edmund has been good for me and he continues to teach me. We learn our entire lives. We learn while growing up and while raising others. I gue..." she paused and looked over to Icarus, "Pardon me, I seem to have gone off on a tangent there. I'm not sure why Edmund acts the way he does except for the reasons he just stated. Maybe one day he will begin to act more serious but for now I enjoy the occasional laugh while trying to settle down."

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Needless to day, Icarus wasn't surprised by the sudden maturity of Edmund; afterall, the little RAIN had been asked a pretty deep question, and if he had continued to be immature, Icarus would be forced to believe that this one was defective. "I'm somehow relieved that you value the RAIN as if they were human, Peaches," he smirked at her. "I know SparkFire says they want you to think like that about us, or them-when you consider the circumstances-but I tend to not see that so much from the company's end."

He stirred the stew idly while he waited for the onions, answering Edmund, "I don't have a purpose. SparkFire was going to delete me because I'm defective, and Trace wanted me to live. I also have some other qualities that he needs, so I suppose my purpose is protection should it come down to it." He had been told not to go into any more details about his skill set, since it could put him in danger should anyone try to re-appropriate him for under-handed schemes, despite his military applicatons being locked for the time being. It would take a skilled hacker, someone much like Kazuya, to re-open them; and though skills like his user's were hard to come by, they still existed.

"As I said, I don't see it much from the company who would rather kill me than let me live despite my objectsions to dying," he added, not looking up at them. "Also, do you think we could take this up to our apartment and cook it there? I want to make sure Trace is alright, and I can't leave him for the entire time it's cooking. Moving it should affect the cooking much."

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She laughed when Icarus assigned her a nickname. Whether it was unique to her or not she appreciated it. It meant things did not have to be entirely formal between the two of them. Upon hearing SparkFire's desires she found herself much less surprised than she expected. It seemed only right that everyone should consider these RAINs as just another person. In public they were not recognizable at all. That was one problem Kennedy had in some situations. She did not know whether she was talking to a RAIN or a User so things tended to get pretty awkward.

"At least he has someone like you to protect him!" chimed Edmund as he slid out of the bar stool and walked back into the kitchen to put away his glass. He was much like Kennedy in the fact that he disliked mess. He liked clutter though, it made him feel at home.

"I do not mind moving to your apartment. Do you mind if Edmund joins us? He can stay quiet," she turned to face her RAIN who was now hovering by her side, "Right Edmund?"

"Yep! I can be as quiet as a well oiled gear!" The boy excitedly rocked on his heals. He took the now empty pan (as it had been emptied into the pot) and shoved it down into the warm water at the base of the sink. They could come back and wash it later. For now, Edmund was excited to see someone who had lived here a bit longer than they had. Maybe their place was different.

Kennedy was not adverse to vising a new place herself. In fact, she was a lot like Edmund, she was excited to see another apartment. From looking at the building she guessed there would be no major changes in the way of apartment arrangement but it would probably have a lot more decorations in it. Icarus seemed fare more established on the island.

Flicking off the light over the bar Kennedy direct the three of them out of the apartment before turning the key and following Edmund as he bounced up the hall to the elevator. Icarus was standing beside her and with a glance to him she smiled, "So you are protecting him? That's awesome. Though I wonder what he would need protection from..." her sentence dropped off at the end as she stepped into the empty elevator headed up to the 21st floor. Maybe there was a lot more to this island than she knew of. Hopefully none of them were in danger. That would not be fun at all.

Edmund clung to Kennedy's arm as they began to rise. "Is Mr. Trace really sick?" asked Edmund. He was not worried for his own health. As far as he knew RAIN could not get sick. They might get a virus one day that could make them sick but human diseases would not effect them. No, he was worried for Kennedy who seemed to care less about her own health.

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Icarus took the pot up, knowing that it was too much for Kennedy to carry herself, and he didn't quite trust the energetic Edmund to help out either. "Trace has some people he's looking for, and they're likely looking for him. The ones that took his life away," he stated as the elevator doors shut on them and the life began rising. "He was convicted of a crim he didn't commit and came to Darkell in search of those men that were responsible. I'm his special partner for that reason. Darkell probably isn't completely secure, so there may come a time when he needs someone who can defend him form real danger. The challenge system and nanite weapons you use are useless against people with real ones--at least for now." Any smart person could figure that Darkell got at least part of its funding from military advancements; if Kennedy and Edmund could make that connection back to Icarus, then they deserved to know.

Icarus looked over his shoulder at Edmund as the doors opened, "He just has a cold, but he's not adapted to bugs from other countries, so they hit him harder than most," he explained, leading the two down a hallway. They reached a door, which Icarus unlocked by mentally linking up with his x-cell, giving the silent command for the door to unlock. "Mind the clothes-line," he mumbled. Their apartment wasn't a mess, but it was crowded. Kazuya has set up clothes-lines stretching across the bachelor's apartment which oddly contained a bunk bed, as though he lived with another person. it wasn't even five steps from the door to the living space where the beds were located; of course though, Icarus deeked off into the kitchenette to place the pot on the stove and turn it up.

"Take a seat on the balcony," he gestured behind him towards the sliding panes of glass. They had been modified, pushed back until there was about four inches between them and the railing. But that wasn't all, the windows were also separated by a sliding paper door that cut it off from the living space. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to sit, as Kazuya himself was already there, nestled into some pillows, staring out over Darkell into the distance.

Icarus stepped out of the kitchenette with a cup of tea, the water prepared before hand and stored in a thermos, to find his user out of bed, next to the cool night air. "Trace, what are you doing?" Icarus strode over and frowned down at his owner.

"Thinking," Trace replied, covering his mouth with his sleeve to cough. He wasn't exactly dressed warmly, only wearing what appeared to be the under robe of a kimono.

"Enough of that, get back in bed," the RAIN ordered, pulling Kazuya from his spot and forcing him into the bed only mere feet away. "And take this," he put the tea and medicine in the man's hand, tucking him under the covers sitting up. "We have guests, and you're not dressed appropriately." After that, he gestured to Kennedy and Edmund to take a seat on the sheltered balcony.

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"Well I sure would be glad if someone like you were around," Kennedy commented as they entered the apartment. It was far different than her own place. The layout was similar but the room looked almost completely different. 'I'm guessing he's from one of the Asian countries' she though to herself. Her lack of observation while she was looking around almost caused her to run into one of the aforementioned clothes lines. "Opps," she said, reeling back a few steps.

Kennedy and Edmund smiled as Trace was ushered to the bed by Icarus, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." It was not like she knew either of them all that well. In fact, she had only just met the RAIN who's apartment she was now entering. The young lady hoped she was not disturbing either of them by trying to help out. It would be a bother to be an inconvenience.

"Wow! Sis! Look!" Edmund called, pulling her attention away from her thoughts, "Their view is so much better than ours!" The boy was scanning the landscape like it was something he had never seen before. With a laugh the girl excused herself as she joined her RAIN and Icarus remained busy with Trace. She patted the boys head and joined him in observing the view.

They were more out of the way here anyway. With a smile she pointed to a building in the distance, "I wonder what that one is, or that one." In fact, the girl had very little experience in navigating the island at all. She had yet to leave the city and was sort of afraid to go exploring; even though she knew Edmund could pull up a map and find their way out of any situation.

She sure wished she had been given the X-cell a few years ago when she got lost in downtown. That was scary. "We should go exploring over the next couple of days- sometime after we have made sure Mr. Trace is better, okay?"

"Ok!" agreed the boy, his eyes radiating the level of excitement he now 'felt'.

"Have you explored the city at all yet, Icarus?" she asked without knowing whether the RAIN could actually hear her.

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To be honest, Kazuya wasn't happy about having two more people, strangers none the less, crammed into his tiny apartment. If it weren't for this !%@$ed bug, he'd be out looking for something for the two of them to do for work instead of living off the meagre funds provided by SparkFire. "Icarus, who are they?" he asked, his tone a little too hostile for his usual nature.

"Don't be so grumpy, they gave us some vegetables and meat for a stew so that you don't stay sick," Icarus replied, equally hostile to his user.

"You're one to ta--" Kazuya was interrupted by a fit of coughing, "I'm shocked that you actually talked to someone, much less invited them over. If I knew that RAIN didn't get sick, I would wonder what you came down with."

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Trace. Now take your medicine before I force it into you," the RAIN retorted with a bitter scowl, "I can't have you dying on me. I would be blamed for it."

Trace made a face that looked like he'd eaten something sour, "I'm not that fragile, Icarus." He took his pill and washed it down with a sip of his tea, gagging immediately afterwards. "Uealch! As if the medicine wasn't bad enough! How old is this tea!?"

"I just made it."

"It tastes stale.""You haven't bought any new tea in a month."

Trace rolled his eyes. Yea, it was his fault. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the headboard of his bed, taking a deep breath before sipping the tea again. "I'm sorry for the late introduction, Miss. I am Trace Noir, and this is my RAIN, Icarus," he introduced, finally looking at the two on his favourite perch. "I'm sorry my place isn't more tidy. I assure you that this is very abnormal for my habits.""And thanks for the stew," Icarus added.

"Yes, that as well," Trace smirked softly. Since when did Icarus have better manners tham he?

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Kennedy about-faced to return Trace's introduction with Edmund stole her thunder and promptly responded, "I'm Edmund and this is my big sister Kennedy!" The small boy laughed and held on to his sister's arm as if he couldn't stand without it.

"It is a pleasure to meet someone else in this city," Kennedy replied, "and your apartment is of no concern or bother. I have not had the opportunity to start much of a collection here so we only have the bare essentials in my small place." She looked around the place and smiled, it felt like a home at least.

The stew. She had not really thought about that since Icarus had taken the pot from her. She only hoped that Trace liked it. After all, she had very little chance to cook stews before. "I hope it is to your tases Mr. Noir, or Trace- whichever you would prefer."

"Sister makes some good soups!" Edmund chimed. The boy had turned around and focused back on the city skyline. He knew the streets because he was programmed too but they still looked nice. With a sigh he began ignoring the conversation going on behind him. He only wanted to run around outside and find some scraps to collect and put in their apartment. Even as a RAIN he was still enthralled with the process of experimenting and inventing new things.

"I only try my best. Now, if I may: how long have you been on the island?" She was curious because if he had been here a long time any hopes of trying to decorate her place soon might have gone out the window. It was not like Edmund really minded all that much, especially since he liked spending most of his time dragging her around outside their place- trying to find things to collect and experiment on.

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"We've been here a few months," Trace answered, yawning behind his sleeve. He was still tired and wasn't much into conversation, though he wasn't sure if he should leave that to Icarus with his personality. "I haven't had much time to explore since I've been mostly looking for work."

"With your skills, you should try the university," Icarus commented, retrating into the kitchen to stir the stew and make sure it didn't burn.

Trace merely sighed and rubbed the back of his neck where his short hair tickled it, wholly unaccustomed to its length. "I suppose I should, but I don't think they'd take to well to my record."

Icarus re-emerged from the kitchen, "You're kidding me, right? You're a world class hacker. Of course they would want you," he pointed out, his hands on his hips, a ladle in one. He was wearing a white apron, probably only a digital reproduction to indicate he was in cooking mode; however, it was oddly suitable to his look.

Trace gave Icarus a look of warning, glancing towards their guests. It wasn't something he wanted to be public knowledge. Afterall, they had no idea what was actually going to happen on Darkell. "Miss Kennedy, I would appreciate it if you and Edmund kept that information absolutely secret. Our pasts aren't supposed to follow us to Darkell." He shifted uncomfortably, coughing into his sleeve again. When the fit had passed he looked to her again, "So what do you and your RAIN intend to do here? You see fairly young; are you living on your own?"

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Ignoring facts of conversation was neither of their specialties but Kennedy nodded her head in response to Trace's request, "I will not say anything that should not be said if it is not my place to say it." She figured it best to ignore that fact in general. Hacking was something she knew about but knew not how to do. With a shrug she eyed her RAIN and noticed he was busy staring off into the distance. She wondered exactly what he was thinking.

"You have been here much longer than we have, it has only been about a month at this point and I have no idea where to start looking for work. I am here for school and I have been doing alright in preparing for that but I am not exactly sure what to do with all the free time I have." It was a lie though, to say she had free time. Most architecture or engineer students were kept in lab all day, every day, with little to know room for play. She had managed to structure her schedule with school in such a way that she did not have to stay all day- a strange feat. But, then again, she was not taking a full load like many of the other students.

"Sister is at the big school for smart people," Edmund commented cheerily, "She is going to help design things in the future!" The young RAIN seemed so enthused by Kennedy's plans to be an architect. It was what she had grown up doing, though her father was more of an engineer. The boy maneuvered his way through the apartment and over to the kitchen where he attempted to eye the soup, "It smells good!"

How could they smell? Kennedy was attempting to process just how Edmund reacted to smell and touch in similar ways that she did. The RAIN technology here seemed the most basic and it was no where to be seen back home. With a sigh she eyed the city outside and turned away from it. Now was not the time to concern herself with worries such as technology. She had a lot she wanted to get done and the first of which was make some sort of friend in this mega-city.

She had ignored Icarus' question for about a minute while she pondered how to respond. "Yeah, we happen to be living alone. They would not grant passage to my father and I did not want him to leave work behind when he came. He will be happy back home and I can write to him, so that is good enough for now. I need to finish my education and make something of myself anyway." She attempted a smile- as if to say that writing was enough- "And yourself? Is it just work you are looking for?"